Temporary clamping structure for electronics

ABSTRACT

A temporary clamping structure for electronics includes a bracket fastened to a ceiling surface of the interior of a room, an electronic device body connected to the ceiling surface by screwing down to the bracket, fitting holes formed on the bracket side, and a fitting pawl provided on the electronic device body and fittable into the fitting holes. The temporary clamping structure for electronics is arranged such that the fitting pawl is unfixed from the fitting hole by bending the tip end of second protrusion of the electronic device body in the direction in which the second protrusion goes away from the first protrusion.

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/421,914 filed Apr. 24,2003. The entire disclosure(s) of the prior application(s), applicationSer. No.(s) 10/421,914 is considered part of the disclosure of theaccompanying application and is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a temporary clamping structure forelectronics, installed in the interior of a room of movable bodies suchas a motor vehicle, an electric train, and a ship, for instance, forinstalling a display (electronics) on one side in the interior of theroom, such as a liquid crystal television monitor (hereinafter referredto as a TV monitor).

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, as electronics of this type, there has been generallyknown an on-vehicle display monitor fastened in an openable and closablemanner to the ceiling of the passenger room of a motor vehicle.

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of aconventional on-vehicle display monitor. FIG. 18 is an enlarged frontview showing the clamping structure of the on-vehicle monitor shown inFIG. 17.

Referring to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, reference numeral 1 denotes anon-vehicle display monitor, which is generally composed of avehicle-side sheet metal bracket (hereinafter referred to as a bracket)2 and an electronic device body 3. The bracket 2 is generally composedof a virtually U-shaped frame 2 a, a virtually rectangular monitormounting part 2 b provided within this frame 2 a, a virtuallyrectangular first supporting part 2 c extending to the center of theframe 2 a along the ceiling surface of the vehicle (not shown) afteronce bends to the ceiling surface of the vehicle (not shown) side fromone lengthwise side of this monitor mounting part 2 b, and a virtuallyrectangular second supporting part 2 d extending along the ceilingsurface of the vehicle (not shown) after once bends to the ceilingsurface of the vehicle (not shown) side from the other lengthwise sideof the monitor mounting part 2 b. A space is formed between the monitormounting part 2 b and the ceiling surface of the vehicle (not shown).Moreover, openings 2 e and 2 f are formed between the frame 2 a, themonitor mounting part 2 b, and the first supporting part 2 c. Tappedholes 4 a, 4 b, 4 c, and 4 d are formed in the four corners of themonitor mounting part 2 b, and grommet insertion holes 5 a, 5 b openedin rectangular cross-section form between the tapped holes 4 a, 4 b, andbetween the tapped holes 4 c, 4 d, respectively.

The electronic device body 3 is generally composed of a monitor casing 6directly screwed down to the monitor mounting part 2 b of the bracket 2and a TV monitor 7 rotatably supported relative to the monitor casing 6.The monitor casing 6 is generally composed of a tabular clamping part 8to clamp the bracket 2 and an operating part 9 provided on the clampingpart 8 and having a mechanism to mechanically or electrically operatethe TV monitor 7. In the clamping part 8, there are formed four tappedholes 8 a, 8 b (two remaining tapped holes are not shown) eachcorresponding to the four tapped holes 4 a, 4 b, 4 c and 4 d located onthe bracket 2 side. In an about half area of the undersurface of theclamping part 8, there is provided a housing surrounding wall 10 tohouse therein the TV monitor 7, and a central partition wall 10 athereof is adjacent to the operating part 9. Furthermore, on theundersurface of the clamping part 8, a rotating shaft 11 to rotatablysupport the TV monitor 7 is provided in the farthest location from thecentral partition wall 10 a. In addition, in the operating part 9, thereis provided an engaging mechanism 12 to engage the TV monitor 7 housedwithin the housing surrounding wall 10 (closed state). This engagingmechanism 12 is generally composed of an engaging pawl (not shown) thatengages with a concavity 14 formed on a front end face 7 a of the TVmonitor 7, through an opening 13 formed in the central partition wall 10a and a push button 15 to release the engagement of the engaging pawlwith the concavity 14.

Rectangular cross-section grommets 16 are screwed between the fourtapped holes 8 a in the clamping part 8 of the electronic device body 3by screws 17. Each of the grommets 16 has a pair of fitting pawls 16 aas shown in FIG. 18.

The method of mounting the conventional on-vehicle display monitor 1will now be described below.

First of all, after the bracket 2 is fastened to the main base sheetmetal (not shown) of the ceiling surface of the vehicle (not shown), thegrommets 16 of the electronic device body 3 are inserted into thegrommet insertion holes 5 a, 5 b on the bracket 2 side. The fittingpawls 16 a of the grommets 16 are closed when the pawls passe throughthe grommet insertion holes 5 a and 5 b, and they are opened afterhaving passed therethrough to fit the grommets 16 into the grommetinsertion holes 5 a, 5 b. This fitting temporarily clamps the electronicdevice body 3 to the bracket 2.

Subsequently, in the above-mentioned temporarily clamped state, thetapped holes 8 a, etc. on the electronic device body 3 side and thetapped holes 4 a, etc. on the bracket 2 side are screwed down by screws(not shown). By going through the above procedures, the mounting work iscompleted.

However, the conventional mounting of the on-vehicle display monitorthus carried out as above enables a relatively easy mounting of theelectronic device body 3 on the bracket 2, but a detachment work thereofis not necessarily easy in contradiction thereto. That is, whendetaching the electronic device body 3 for repair or exchange, forinstance, complicated works entail, involving unscrew of the screws (notshown) screwed down into the tapped holes 4 a, etc. on the bracket sideand the tapped holes 8 a, etc on the electronic device body side, andremoval of the grommets 16 from the main base sheet metal (not shown)after the screws 17 have unscrewed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentionedproblem. An object of the present invention is to provide a temporaryclamping structure for electronics having an easily attachable anddetachable structure to/from the mounting part.

The temporary clamping structure for electronics according to thepresent invention includes a bracket fastened to one side in theinterior of a room; an the electronic device body connected to the sidein the interior of the room by fixing on the bracket; a fittingconcavity formed in either of the electronic device body and thebracket; and a fitting convexity formed in the other side and fittableinto the fitting concavity.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it allows an easytemporary clamping on the bracket by the fitting of the fittingconcavity into the fitting convexity, and permits an easy detachment ofthe electronic device body from the bracket by releasing the fitting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of theon-vehicle display monitor according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the fitting structure ofthe on-vehicle display monitor shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4A is a sectional view for explaining an operation of the fittingand release.

FIG. 4B is a sectional view for explaining an operation of the fittingand release.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing mechanism taken along the line V-V in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing detection lever taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.1.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing detection lever positioned in a proper referenceposition.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing detection lever positioned in a positioncorresponding to the monitor gone away farthest from the properreference position.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing detection lever positioned in the positioncorresponding to the monitor came up closest to the proper referenceposition.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the bracketin the on-vehicle display monitor according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of theelectronic device body connectable to the bracket shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of themonitor casing with the monitor of the electronic device body shown inFIG. 11 held open.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the coverconnectable to the electronic device body shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing detection lever taken along the line XIV-XIV in FIG.12.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing the male engaging part of the coverattaching and detaching mechanism taken along the line XV-XV in FIG. 12.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing the female engaging part of thecover attaching and detaching mechanism taken along the line XVI-XVI inFIG. 13.

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of theconventional on-vehicle display monitor.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged front view showing the clamping structure of theon-vehicle display monitor shown in FIG. 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail with reference with the attached drawings.

FIRST EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of theon-vehicle display monitor according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 isan enlarged perspective view showing the fitting structure of theon-vehicle display monitor shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is sectional viewtaken along the line III-III in FIG. 2. FIG. 4A is a sectional view forexplaining an operation of the fitting and release. FIG. 4B is asectional view for explaining an operation of the fitting and release.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing mechanism taken along the line V-V in FIG. 1. FIG. 6is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitor opening andclosing detection lever taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 isa sectional view showing the configuration of the monitor opening andclosing detection lever positioned in the proper reference position.FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing detection lever positioned in the positioncorresponding to the monitor gone away farthest from the properreference position. FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the configurationof the monitor opening and closing detection lever positioned in theposition corresponding to the monitor came up closest to the properreference position.

The same reference numerals of the on-vehicle display monitor accordingto the first embodiment as those of the conventional on-vehicle displaymonitor shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 indicate the same components, andtherefore descriptions thereof are omitted for brevity's sake.

On a bracket 2 in the first embodiment, there are provided a pair offirst lugs (first protrusions) 20 that project toward the passenger roomside. Each of the first lugs 20 has an fitting hole (fitting concavity)21 formed thereon in generally rectangular shape. On the other hand, ona monitor casing 6 of an electronic device body 3, a pair of throughholes 22 are formed, into which the first lug 20 provided on the bracket2 is insertable. At the positions adjacent to each through hole 22, apair of second lugs (second protrusions) 23 are provided that projecttoward the passenger room side, each integrally molded with the monitorcasing 6. Each of the second lugs 23 has an fitting pawl (fittingconvexity) 24 fittable from the inside with the fitting hole 21 on thebracket 2 side.

In the first embodiment, the dimension from the tip end (lower end onmounting) of the second lug 23 to the fitting pawl 24 is made longerthan that from the tip end (lower end on mounting) of the first lug 20to the fitting hole 21. Therefore, in the fitted state, only the tip endof the second lug 23 projects from the tip end of first lug 20 as shownin FIG. 2.

The method of mounting the on-vehicle display monitor 1 of the firstembodiment will now be described below.

After the bracket 2 has fastened to the main base sheet metal (notshown) of the ceiling surface of the vehicle (not shown), the electronicdevice body 3 is lifted such that the first lug 20 of the bracket 2 areeach inserted into the through holes 22 corresponding to the lugs. Atthis time, the fitting pawl 24 of the second lug 23 of the electronicdevice body 3 is brought into close to the fitting hole 21 from the tipend side of the first lug 20 of the bracket 2 in the direction shown byan arrow A1 in FIG. 4A in order to bend inwardly the second lug 23 ofthe electronic device body 3 as much as the height of the engaging pawl24. When the fitting pawl 24 is in a position opposed to the fittinghole 21, the fitting pawl 24 is fitted into the fitting hole 21 in thedirection shown by an arrow A2 in FIG. 4B by the aid of the elasticrepulsive force of the second lug 23. This fitting temporarily clampsthe electronic device body 3 to the bracket 2.

Subsequently, in the above-mentioned temporarily clamped state, thetapped holes 8 a, etc. on the electronic device body side and the tappedholes 4 a, etc. on the bracket side are screwed down by screws (notshown). By going through the above procedures, the mounting operation iscompleted.

The method of detaching the on-vehicle display monitor 1 of the firstembodiment will next be described below.

First of all, the screws (not shown) screwed down into the tapped holes4 a, etc. on the bracket 2 side and the tapped holes 8 a, etc. on theelectronic device body 3 side are unscrewed. After that, by pushing thetip end of at least one of the second lugs 23 of the electronic devicebody 3 in the direction shown by an arrow B1 in FIG. 4B using anoperator's finger, for instance, the second lug 23 is bent inwardly torelease the fitting pawl 24 from the fitting hole 21 (unfix).Subsequently, the electronic device body 3 is pulled down in thedirection (in the gravitational direction) shown by an arrow B2 in FIG.4A to unfix the fitting pawl 24 of the second lug 23 from the tip endside of the first lug 20. By going through the above procedures, thedetaching operation is completed.

Next, the configuration of the monitor opening and closing mechanism inthe electronic device body 3 will be described by reference to FIG. 1and FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, reference numeral 30 denotes a rotatingshaft (monitor opening and closing mechanism) disposed in the monitorcasing 6 of the electronic device body 3, and 31 denotes a monitorengaging member (monitor opening and closing mechanism) rotatablysupported by the rotating shaft 30. The monitor engaging member 31 isgenerally composed of engaging pawl 31 a that is able to engage with thetop surface 14 a of the concavity 14 formed on the TV monitor 7 and thesupporting part 31 b provided on the opposite side to the engaging pawl31 a with respect to the rotating shaft 30. The engaging pawl 31 a ofthe monitor engaging member 31 slightly projects from an opening 13 ofthe monitor casing 6 (reference position). The supporting part 31 b ofthe monitor engaging member 31 is connected with a supporting rod 15 aof a push button 15 (monitor opening and closing mechanism) through aflexible member 32 (monitor opening and closing mechanism) curved in aU-shaped cross section form, for instance.

The operation of the monitor opening and closing mechanism will now bedescribed below.

When the TV monitor 7 is in use (opened state), the monitor engagingmember 31 stands in the above-mentioned reference position. Here, whenhousing the TV monitor 7 in the monitor casing 6, front end face 7 a ofthe TV monitor 7 pushes up the engaging pawl 31 a of the monitorengaging member 31. At this time, because the monitor engaging member 31rotates as much as the bending of the flexible member 32 in a directionshown by an arrow C1 in FIG. 5, the monitor engaging member 32 slightlyretreats from the front end face 7 a of the TV monitor 7 as the TVmonitor 7 moves upward. In addition, when the TV monitor 7 is pushed up,the engaging pawl 31 a of the monitor engaging member 31 slidinglycontacts the front end face 7 a of the TV monitor 7, and gets into theconcavity 14 of the TV monitor 7. At this time, the monitor engagingmember 31 rotates by restoring force of the flexible member 32 in thedirection shown by an arrow C2 in FIG. 5, and returns to theabove-described reference position. Because the engaging pawl 31 a ofthe monitor engaging member 31 standing at the reference positionslightly projects from the opening 13 of the electronic device body 3,upon stopping pushing up the TV monitor 7, the engaging pawl 31 aengages with the top surface 14 a of the concavity 14 of the TV monitor7 as shown in FIG. 5. As a result, the TV monitor 7 is maintained withthe monitor housed within the housing surrounding wall 10 (closedstate).

When putting the TV monitor 7 in use, the push button 15 is pushed up inthe direction (upward) shown by an arrow C3 in FIG. 5. This push-upforce is transmitted to the supporting part 31 b of the monitor engagingmember 31 through the flexible member 32, and rotates the monitorengaging member 31 in the direction shown by an arrow C2. Since thisrotation causes the engaging pawl 31 a of the monitor engaging member 31to get out from the top surface 14 a of the concavity 14 of the TVmonitor 7, the TV monitor 7 rotates by gravity (unlock). This droops theTV monitor 7 and puts it in use (opened state).

The configuration of the monitor opening and closing detection lever ofthe electronic device body 3 will be described by reference to FIG. 6and FIG. 7.

The monitor opening and closing detection lever 40 is provided in theoperating part 9 of the monitor casing 6. As shown in FIG. 6, themonitor opening and closing detection lever 40 is generally composed ofa first lever (first abutting part) 42 that is able to abut against thefront end face 7 a of the TV monitor 7 housed within the housingsurrounding wall 10 through an opening 41 formed in a central partitionwall 10 a of a clamping part 8, a rotating shaft 43 rotatably supportingthe first lever 42, a second lever (second abutting part) 46 that isable to abut against a power switch 45 that is rotatably supported by arotating shaft 44 provided within the first lever 42 itself and isdisposed within the operating part 9, and a spring 47 (elastic means),disposed between the first lever 42 and the second lever 46, foradjusting the clearance therebetween. The monitor opening and closingdetection lever 40 is arranged such that when the TV monitor 7 is inuse, the first lever 42 comes in the housing surrounding wall 10 throughthe opening 41 by rotating it around the rotating shaft 43 by the aid ofelastic repulsion force of the spring 71, and when the TV monitor 7 isclosed, the first lever 42 abuts against the front end face 7 a of theTV monitor 7. In this case, the second lever 46 is apart from the powerswitch 45. The power switch 45 is fixed on a printed board 48 covered bythe operating part 9.

The operation of the monitor opening and closing detection part will nowbe described below.

First of all, when pushing up the TV monitor 7 to close the TV monitor7, the front end face 7 a of the TV monitor 7 abuts against the firstlever 42 of the monitor opening and closing detection lever 40 andthrusts this first lever 42. This thrust force causes the first lever 42to rotate in the direction shown by an arrow D1 in FIG. 7, and also thesecond lever 46 through the spring 47. When the second lever 46 abutsagainst the power switch 45 and pushes this switch, an operation of theTV monitor 7 is suspended, with the result that the power is shut off asa consequence of a judgement that the TV monitor 7 is being closed. Theabutment of the second lever 46 against the abutment surface 3 aabutting against the printed board 48 of the bracket 2 stops therotation of the second lever 46. Under such a condition, the TV monitor7 is engaged with the monitor engaging member 31 of the above monitoropening and closing mechanism. Abutting the second lever 46 against theabutment surface 3 a in order to stop it imposes no load on the powerswitch 45 and securely prevents the destruction of the power switch 45,or the like.

Then, when pushing up the push button 15 to release the engagement ofthe TV monitor 7 and the monitor engaging member 31, the TV monitor 7begins falling down by gravity. At this time, because the first lever 42is urged in the direction shown by an arrow D2 in FIG. 7 by elasticrepulsion force of the compressed spring 71, the first lever 42 rotatesfollowing the TV monitor 7 and thrusts the TV monitor 7 in the rotatingdirection. This discharges the TV monitor 7 from the first lever 42, andstops after rotation at the drooping position. Meanwhile, because thesecond lever 46 rotates as well in the direction shown by an arrow D2and parts from the power switch 45, turning on the power. That is, whenthe TV monitor 7 is in use, the power is automatically turned on.

There is a possibility of slight variations in the clearance between thefront end face 7 a of the clamped TV monitor 7 and the central partitionwall 10 a of the monitor casing 6 because of the positional tolerance ofeach part. In this event, if the above-mentioned clearance is shorterthan the proper dimension, the thrust force becomes too large, and thislarge thrust force produces the deformations of the boards and terminalsadjacent to the power switch 45 when the power switch 45 is pushed bythe monitor opening and closing detection lever 40. In the worst case, acontact failure might be caused. On the contrary, if the above-mentionedclearance is longer than the proper dimension, the monitor opening andclosing detection lever 40 is short of rotation, which obstructssecurely pushing the power switch 45. Thus, the opening and closing ofthe TV monitor 7 could not be detected. For this reason, a properadjustment of the position of the monitor opening and closing detectionlever 40 is necessitated in accordance with the clearance. That is,assuming that the position of the TV monitor 7 located at the clearanceshown in FIG. 7 is the proper reference position, in the case where TVmonitor 7 goes away outwardly, for instance by 1 mm at the maximum, fromthe proper reference position relative to the central partition wall 10a, the power switch 45 is pushed in the situation that the clearancebetween the first lever 42 and the second lever 46 is large as shown inFIG. 8. On the other hand, in the case where the TV monitor 7 goes awayinwardly, for instance by 1 mm at the maximum, from the proper referenceposition relative to the central partition wall 10 a, the spring 47 iscompressed as shown in FIG. 9 so as to reduce the clearance between thefirst lever 42 and the second lever 46.

As mentioned above, according to the first embodiment, the temporaryclamping structure for electronics comprises the bracket 2 fastened tothe ceiling surface (not shown) of the passenger room in a vehicle, theelectronic device body 3 connected with the ceiling surface of thepassenger room by screwing down on the bracket 2, the fitting hole 21formed on the bracket 2 side, and the fitting pawl 24 fittable into thefitting hole 21 formed on the electronic device body 3 side. This easilytemporarily clamps the electronic device body on the bracket 2 by thefitting of the fitting hole 21 and the fitting pawl 24, and easilydetaches the electronic device body 3 from the bracket 2 by releasingthe fitting. Therefore, the temporarily clamping structure of theelectronics for the present invention facilitates easy attachment anddetachment of the electronics.

Further, since in the first embodiment the temporary clamping structurefor electronics is arranged such that the bracket 2 is a sheet metalmember having formed thereon the fitting hole 21, and the electronicdevice body 3 is an elastic resin member integrally molded with thefitting pawl 24, the fitting pawl 24 can be easily engaged with thefitting hole 21 by using the elastic force. In addition, since thetemporary clamping structure for electronics is arranged such that theelectronic device body is an integrally molded article, themanufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, in the first embodiment the temporary clamping structure forelectronics is arranged such that the first lug 20 having the fittinghole 21 formed in the bracket 2, the second lug 23 having the fittingpawl 24 provided in the electronic device body 3, and the dimension fromthe tip end of the second lug 23 to the fitting pawl 24 is longer thanthat from the tip end of the first lug 20 to the fitting hole 21, whicheasily releases the fitting of the fitting hole 21 and the fitting pawl24 by bending the tip end of the second lug 23 that is longer than thefirst lug 20 in the direction in which the tip end of the second lug 23goes away from the first lug 20. This allows easy detachment of theelectronic device body 3 from the bracket 2.

While in the first embodiment the temporary clamping structure forelectronics is arranged such that the fitting hole 21 is formed on thebracket 2 side, and the fitting pawl 24 is provided on the electronicdevice body 3 side, the fitting hole 21 may conversely be formed on theelectronic device body 3 side, and the fitting pawl 24 on the bracket 2side.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment the temporary clamping structurefor electronics is arranged such that in the electronic device body 3,there are provided the monitor casing 6 connectable to the bracket 2,the TV monitor 7 rotatably supported by the monitor casing 6, and themonitor opening and closing detection lever 40, provided on the monitorcasing 6, for detecting that the TV monitor 7 is closed to turn off thepower, and for detecting that the TV monitor 7 is opened to turn on thepower. This automatically turns off the power the instant that the TVmonitor 7 is closed, thereby saving electricity.

Moreover, in the first embodiment the temporary clamping structure forelectronics is arranged such that in the monitor opening and closingdetection lever 40, there are provided the first lever 42 that abutsagainst the TV monitor 7, the second lever 46 that abuts against thepower switch 45, and the spring 47, disposed between the second lever 46and the first lever 42, for adjusting the clearance between the firstlever 42 and the second lever 46, and the second lever 46 that abutsagainst the abutment surface 3 a of the electronic device body 3 inorder to stop it. This intercepts the transmission of impact to thepower switch 45, and securely prevents the occurrence of the contactfailure caused by the deformations of the board, the terminals and thelike of the power switch 45. Moreover, even if the position where the TVmonitor 7 abuts against the first lever 42 is changed due to thepositional tolerance of the parts, the elastic force of the spring 47absorbs a change in the pushing amount of the parts due to thepositional tolerance of the parts. This guarantees to securely push thepower switch 45, even if the abutting position of the TV monitor 7 andthe first lever 42 goes away from or up to the reference position.

Moreover, since in the first embodiment the electronic device body 3 hasthe monitor opening and closing mechanism for holding and releasing theTV monitor 7, the TV monitor 7 can be easily opened and closed.

SECOND EMBODIMENT

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the bracketin the on-vehicle display monitor according to the second embodiment.FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of theelectronic device body connectable to the bracket shown in FIG. 10. FIG.12 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of themonitor casing with the monitor of the electronic device body shown inFIG. 11 kept open. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the coverconnectable to the electronic device body shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the monitoropening and closing detection lever taken along the line XIV-XIV in FIG.12. FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing the male engaging part of thecover attaching and detaching mechanism taken along the line XV-XV inFIG. 12. FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing the female engaging part ofthe cover attaching and detaching mechanism taken along the line XVI-XVIin FIG. 13.

The same reference numerals as the conventional on-vehicle displaymonitor shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 and that of the first embodimentindicate the same components, and therefore descriptions thereof areomitted for brevity's sake.

The first feature of the second embodiment is in that the monitoropening and closing detection lever 50, an integrally molded resinelement, is used. The monitor opening and closing detection lever 50 is,as shown in FIG. 14, a generally U-shaped single member integrallymolded with a base 50 a rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 43, afirst lever (first abutting part) 50 b that extends from the base 50 aand abuts against the TV monitor 7, and a second lever 50 c (secondabutting part) that extends from the base 50 a and abuts against a powerswitch (not shown in FIG. 14). A bending peculiar to the resin whichacts on both of the first lever 50 b and the second lever 50 c is usedfor adjusting the clearance between the first lever and the second leverof the monitor opening and closing detection lever 50 and absorbing ashock.

The second feature of the second embodiment is in that the cover 60 thatcovers the electronic device body 3 is further provided. The cover 60is, as shown in FIG. 13, generally composed of a cover body 61 thatcovers an operating part 9 of the electronic device body 3, a generallyrectangular monitor opening 62, formed within the cover body 61, forsecuring a space for housing therein the TV monitor 7, and an operationopening 63 corresponding to a push button 15 and the like in theoperating part 9. As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 16, in the cover body 61,a pair of fitting holes 64 are formed in an wall 61 a facing to themonitor opening 62.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 15, in the operatingpart 9 of the electronic device body 3, a pair of elastic sections 65,broken away from a part of the wall, are formed on the wall 9 a thatabuts against the TV monitor 7. A fitting pawl 66 fittable into thefitting hole 64, is provided on each of the elastic sections 65. Here,the fitting hole 64, the elastic section 65, and the fitting pawl 66constitute a cover attaching and detaching mechanism 67.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 15, in monitor casing 6 of theelectronic device body 3, a pair of engaging burs 68 are provided in anedge adjacent to a rotating shaft 11. On the other hand, as shown inFIG. 16, in the cover body 61, an engaging pawl 69 that is able toengage with the engaging bar 68 is provided on the edge of the coverbody 61. In addition, a concavity 70 opened around the rotating shaft 11of the monitor casing 6 is formed in the vicinity of the engaging pawl69.

The operation of the on-board display monitor of the second embodimentwill now be described below.

When putting the cover 60 on the electronic device body 3, the coverbody 61 is put on the operating part 9 side while rotating the coverbody after the engaging pawl 69 of the cover body 61 has engaged withthe engaging bar 68 of the monitor casing 6. At this time, the engagingpawl 66 of the operating part 9 is engaged with the engaging hole 64 ofthe cover body 61 with the help of the elastic force of the elasticsection 65. By going through the above procedures, the coveringoperation for covering the electronic device body 3 with the cover 60 iscompleted.

Subsequently, when detaching the cover 60 from the electronic devicebody 3, the fitting pawl 66 is thrust to go away the fitting pawl 66from the fitting hole 64, and under such condition the cover body 61 isrotated around the fitting pawl 69. By going through the aboveprocedures, the detaching operation is completed.

In addition, in order to reduce the weight of the bracket whilemaintaining the mechanical strength thereof, the bracket 2 in the secondembodiment has the increased number of openings over the bracket 2 inthe first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, a generally crossopening 2 g is formed on a monitor mounting part 2 b, a first supportingpart 2 c, and a second supporting part 2 d, a generally rectangularopenings 2 h, 2 i are formed in the first supporting part 2 c, andgenerally rectangular openings 2 j, 2 k are formed in the secondsupporting part 2 d.

As mentioned above, according to the second embodiment, the monitoropening and closing lever 50 is a generally U-shaped single member thatis integrally molded with the base 50 a rotatably supported by therotating shaft 43, the first lever 50 b that extends from the base 50 aand abuts against the TV monitor 7, and the second lever 50 c thatextends from the base 50 a and abuts against the power switch 45, thesecond lever 50 c being stopped by abutting it against the abutmentsurface 3 a of the electronic device body 3. This intercepts the shocktransmission to the power switch 45, and securely prevents theoccurrence of a contact failure caused by the deformations of thesubstrate, the terminal and the like of the power switch 45. Moreover,even if the position where the TV monitor 7 abuts against the firstlever 50 b is changed due to the positional tolerance of the parts, theelastic force of the monitor opening and closing detection lever 50absorbs a change in the pushing amount of the parts caused by thepositional tolerance. This securely presses the power switch 45, even ifthe abutting position goes away from or up to the reference position.Additionally, since the first lever 50 b and the second lever 50 c areintegrally molded with each other, additional parts such as the spring47 used in the first embodiment are not necessary, which reduces themanufacturing cost.

Since in the second embodiment the temporary clamping structure forelectronics is arranged such that the structure further includes thecover 60 that covers the electronic device body 3, and these cover 60and the electronic device body 3 include the cover attaching anddetaching mechanism 67, the attachment and detachment of the cover 60 tothe electronic device body 3 can be easily done by using the coverattaching and detaching mechanism 67.

In addition, while in the illustrated Embodiments the case where theon-vehicle display monitor as an electronic device is clamped to theceiling surface of the passenger room of a vehicle is described, thetemporary clamping structure for electronics of the present inventionmay be applicable to the case where the electronic device is clamped tothe ceiling surfaces of other movable bodies such as a train and a ship,or of a building.

1. A temporary clamping structure for electronics comprising: a bracketfastened to a mounting surface; an electronic device body connected tothe mounting surface by fixing on the bracket; a fitting concavityformed in either of the electronic device body and the bracket; afitting convexity formed in the other of the electronic device body andthe bracket and fittable into the fitting concavity, wherein theelectronic device body includes a monitor casing connectable to thebracket; a monitor rotatably supported by the monitor casing; and amonitor open and close detecting lever provided on the monitor casing,for detecting that the monitor is closed to turn off power, and fordetecting that the monitor is opened to turn on the power.
 2. Atemporary clamping structure for electronics according to claim 1,wherein the monitor open and close detecting lever includes a firstabutting part that abuts against the monitor; a second abutting partthat abuts against a power switch; and an elastic element, disposedbetween the second abutting part and the first abutting part, foradjusting the clearance between the first abutting part and the secondabutting part.
 3. A temporary clamping structure for electronicsaccording to claim 1, wherein the monitor open and close detecting leveris a resin member integrally molded with a first abutting part thatabuts against the monitor and a second abutting part that abuts againsta power switch.